Aussie Quinellas Thrill The Mooloolaba Crowd

Aussie Quinellas Thrill The Mooloolaba Crowd

Australia has scored the major medals in Mooloolaba ITU World Cup with the combination of youth, experience and a touch of local knowledge helping them get the job done in sensational style.

Men's Race

Aussie youngsters Luke Willian and Drew Box were in a pitched battle all day, not only for race honours and the Mooloolaba title, but also for the opportunity to secure the last spot on the Australian team for the World Triathlon Series race on the Gold Coast, which also doubles as a Commonwealth Games qualifier.

The pressure was on from the gun but was Willian who ultimately won the battle of attrition seeing off contenders all afternoon, before finally turning up the wick on his mate to secure not only the Mooloolaba win, a Gold Coast qualifier and also a spot in the under 23 Australian team for the World Championships in Rotterdam.

Heading up the gruelling Alexandra Headland for the last time Willian decided it was ‘now or never’, cranked up the pace and headed home for the biggest win of his career.

“Everyone was hurting at the top of the hill and I knew I had to make a move, get the gap then hold it all the way home. Getting the opportunity to race in the WTS race on the Gold Coast and to have the opportunity to have a crack at a Commonwealth Games spot is what I have desperately wanted.”

“On the run I was racing Drew for an Australian spot in WTS Gold Coast but I was also racing the other under 23s for a spot on the team for Rotterdam. So I just kept trying to tick the boxes. There was plenty going on, you don’t get many races more complicated than this one.”

“I used to have family holidays in Mooloolaba and I remember watching all the greats when I was a little tacker and doing the 5km run and comparing my 5km time to theirs. Last year was first aussie across the line and this year I am first Aussie but in the number one spot. It is incredible and it means the world to have my name on the trophy,” he said.

Women's Race

Despite an awkward start to the swim, Aussie Olympian Emma Jackson has kicked off her 2017 season in style holding off a charging Ashleigh Gentle to win her first Mooloolaba title.

“I actually fell over running into the ocean and I got up and I thought ‘Oh my god I am last’. It wasn’t the best start but I just went as hard as I could for the rest of the swim and I found myself towards the front only on the way back into the shore.”

Jackson’s day got better with every lap of the bike and run, her only real threat was the charging Ashleigh Gentle who had been driving the chase pack on the bike and was storming through the field on the run.

“In the first five km she hadn’t put too much time into me but at the end of the third lap I heard that she was less than 30 seconds behind, which made me a bit nervous. I just told myself to keep it together, keep going and I really had to push that last lap and hold on.”

“Coming up here and having a win was probably the best thing I could have asked for, so hopefully I can carry that form into the Gold Coast. We are now starting the four year Olympic cycle again and some people have moved on from the sport so it is the year for a lot of people to step up show what they can do and hopefully I am one of them,” Jackson said.